Ceres High's round-robin tournament returns following a one-year hiatus.

The 35th Ceres Holiday Tournament will be staged this Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Phil de la Porte Gymnasium.

"We didn't have a tournament last year," Bulldogs head coach Julio Marquez said. "We couldn't get enough teams. I did it (started organizing this year's tourney) a lot sooner."

The 2015 Ceres tournament features four teams: Ceres High, Cesar Chavez, McNair and Elliot Christian.

Senior shooting guard Austin Stiles, junior small forward Haaydn Martinez and sophomore center Cristian Garcia will lead the Bulldogs.

"We'll be counting on Austin and Haaydn a lot," Marquez said. "We'll give Cristian opportunities, too. I'm trying not to put pressure on him."

The Bulldogs will face Chavez on Thursday (8 p.m.), McNair on Friday (8 p.m.) and Elliot Christian on Saturday (2 p.m.).

"It's a pretty solid field," Marquez said.

Ceres High posted a 2-1 record en route to a second-place finish at the 34th Ceres Holiday Tournament.

"For us to win it this year, we'll have to be solid on both sides of the court," Marquez said. "It's a realistic goal for us."

Ceres High dropped its first five games this year prior to competing in Turlock's Godinez tournament.

"We've been competitive all season," said Marquez, whose team qualified for the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs, compiled a 14-12 overall record and placed third in the Western Athletic Conference standings (7-5) during the 2014-15 school year. "Turnovers have killed us. We have to eliminate them. We're just hoping to play better basketball and win a few games."

Ceres High's junior-varsity boys basketball team will host Buhach Colony on Thursday (6:30 p.m.), McNair on Friday (6:30 p.m.) and Elliott Christian on Saturday (12:30 p.m.) as part of its Holiday Tournament.

Frosh Hawks take first
Central Valley High School's freshman boys basketball team finished in first place at its own tournament this past week.

"They were really motivated to win it," Hawks head coach Amrit Chahal said. "The last time Central Valley placed first at home was in 2011-12. My brother was on that team."

Central Valley won all three of its games.

Central Valley held on for a 69-57 win against West of Tracy in the finals on Dec. 4.

Daniel Villasenor exploded for a team-high 25 points.

Mankern Chahal collected 15 points.

James Benites tallied 12 points.

Grant Neang and Oscar Lopez netted eight and five points, respectively.

Edgardo Andrade and Jovel Camarena both scored two points.

Central Valley posted a 68-48 win victory over Big Valley Christian on Dec. 3.

Villasenor totaled a team-high 13 points.

Grant Neang added 12 points.

Benites scored eight points.

Central Valley bested Grace Davis 52-37 on Dec. 2.

Villasenor scored a team-high 12 points.

Chahal tallied 11 points.

Benites chipped in with 10 points.